Parenting is the New Black
by Jean Qiu
Summary: In this short story, Liz ignored Red's advice and adopted a girl named Samantha. What would happen after Tom left?
1. Chapter 1

Parenting is the New Black

Chapter 1

 **Author's Note:** Hi everyone! It's my first my first time to post Blacklist fanfiction. Because of that, I was very nervous about posting it. Actually, it's my final project in my English writing class. In this project, I should discuss about one of the social issues. Hope I could progress from this project. Please give me some comments. Thank you. :)

* * *

The sun shines in the room from the window. The air in the room is sweet, and the music in the room is also sweet and soft. What a lovely morning, but a suddenly noise breaks through the peaceful air. "Bi－Bi－Bi－" On the king size bed is a man with short blond hair. The man frowns, stretching out his arm to pick the damn phone up.

"I am on leave, so leave the message." the man answers the phone with his deep voice.

"Don! Don! This is Liz. I am so sorry for bothering you. I got an emergency call from the office, and the director had me back to the office to deal with the complicated case. What's worse, my babysitter took a sick leave, so no one can take care of Samantha. Could you do me a favor, please?" Liz answers hastily.

Don scratches his messy hair and answers without considering clearly, "Okay, I think I might get along with your sweetie well. See you on nine o'clock."

"Sam! Sam! Wake up! Get ready. Let's go to Uncle Don's house" Liz says. There are toys, papers, shoes, clothes, sox and lots of unknowing things scatter on the floor. Therefore, Liz walks carefully through the aisle and gets to Sam's room. In the room, all the walls painted pink and decorated with wall stickers. On the small single size bed is a little girl with long brown and curly hair, clever and blue eyes, and when she smiles there are dimples on her cheeks. Liz looks at Sam's dreamy face, can't help but recall the complex but sometimes warm memories. Liz and Tom spent a long period of time to get the admission to adopt child from the government. When they got the permission, they hug each other and Liz cried with joy. They adopted a girl, she's so dynamic, so they named her Samantha. Liz still remembers that they were so surprised when Sam cut her first tooth, so happy when Sam stepped out her first step toward them, so touched while Sam first called them "Pa…" and "Ma…", and they were so worried when Sam got bad cold. They experienced all the emotions together. There were laughter between them that time. However, one day, Liz found that Tom got closed to her for purposes as Red said.

"Mom, why we going to Uncle Don's house?" Sam is rubbing her eye and asks.

"Because Mom got a call, I need to go to work." Liz sits on the bed, caressing Sam's supple hair and answers.

"You said you had a leave today, and you would stay with me… you said that…"Sam's lips compresses into a sad line when she hears her mom's answer. Liz is frustrated, because she broke her promise again. Things had changed after Tom left, Sam became a clingy child, and Liz needs to balance Sam and work, she burned the candles at both ends. She strike a balance between Sam and her work all the time with heart and soul. However, things are not always going to the right direction after her heart. It seems that the more effort she puts, the more depression she finds herself. What she can do now is that believes herself that she can do better next time, and has no choice but answer her little girl with the same answers: " I'm sorry, Sam. I promise it won't happen next time!" Sam looks at the floor with her head hanging down. She holds her blanket tightly, then she turns up her head with a barely smile, and says " Okay!"

"Ring－Ring－Ring－" the doorbell rings. Don rushes to answer it. "Hey, Liz." Don greets. "Hi, Little girl." he squats down and says to Sam genially.

"Hello, Uncle Don! My name is Samantha. You can call me Sam." Sam answers with a bright smile. This became a routine after Liz taught Sam how to introduce herself, and everyone she greets to would always amusedly play alone.

"You haven't had the breakfast, right? There are bread, milk, jam, and corn flakes on the table." Don helps Sam take off the bag and says.

"Thank you! Uncle Don." Sam answers with her sweat voice, and takes her bag back from Don. "Bye. Mommy." she clutches at Liz's pants.

"Bye, sweetie. I Love you.'' Liz kisses Sam's cheek, then Sam gets into Don's house.

Don stands up and stares at Liz, "I really hate to say this, but this sort of things just prove that I was right, I **am** right about you being single and having a child, Liz."

"I think I took a good care of Sam. This is unexpected!" Liz protests. "Many times! You're always struggling between your work and daughter!" Don says with folded arms.

"Could we please have this conversation later? Thank you for helping me. You are a lifesaver! I owe you a meal! I have to leave now!" Liz goes to her car hastily.

"Liz…"

"I'll never send Sam back to the foster care!" Liz turns back to Don and says determinedly, then gets in her car quickly and drives away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Liz's car goes, Don stands and watches, until it disappears in his sight. He can't help but sigh. As Liz's colleague and friend, he was struggle at that tough time when Tom left. He did know that Sam's an apple of Liz's eye, but he thought that what Sam really needs was a stable environment, not a complex one. Therefore, he convinced Liz to send Sam back, because everything was not in shape, not even Liz herself. However, Liz was determined, she could compromise everything besides Sam. After that, every single time Don mentions Sam, she will be aggressive like a lioness with babies. Again, Don sighs. Upon he closes the door, he hears something…

* * *

"Could you help me?" Sam has tried several times to open the jam jar, but it's in vain. She insists on doing everything by herself, no matter how difficult it is. However, this time, she has no choice but to ask the man in a suit and a gentry hat for help.

"Red!? "Don appears in the dining room. "Why are you here? Liz backs to work." Red glances at Don, he answers nothing but smiles mysteriously. He sits beside Sam, grins, and takes the jar from Sam's hand to open it up.

"Here you are, Sam." "Ressler, you are lousy at looking after child." Red says amusedly.

"Thank you, Stranger! Why you know my name?" Sam takes the butter knife, trying hard to stick out her arm dipping the strawberry jam and spread it on the toast. The jam drops when she is spreading the toast.

"Hey, you need help?" Don opens a chair, sitting down in front of Red.

"I can make it by myself!" Sam looks toward Don, then continues. Sam's earnest makes Don smiles. Like mother like daughter, Sam's and Liz's personalities are precisely the same, they are both determined but sometimes too stubborn to accept the help from others. Don turns his sight from Sam to Red, who is looking down at her jam-soaked face. He is supposed to be in the office to deal with the case with Liz, but now he is here.

* * *

Liz quickly parks her car in the basement, then taking the elevator up to her office.

"Morning!" Liz greets to her colleagues, and puts her stuff on the chair. "What?" All of her crews are surprised at her presence. Liz feels confused about their reactions and attention.

"You are on leave, aren't you?" one of her colleagues asks.

"Yeah, but Cooper called me back…" Liz says hesitantly. She looks around the office for Cooper's figure, but finds nothing but a note with numbers on it. She takes the note, murmuring that "Cooper, babysitter, Red…!" Liz grasps the bag and runs out of the office hastily.

* * *

Sam finishes her breakfast, and cleans her mouth with the napkin by herself. She gets down the chair, bouncing to her bag. She takes out a book, and gasp it to Don with a dimpled smile.  
"You want I read the book for you? 《The Snow Queen》?"Don takes the book from Sam.

"No. I read it for both of you!" Sam says, taking their hands and leading them to the living room. Sam sits on the dark khaki couch between Don and Red. She cherishes this book very much, so she opens it carefully. On the third page, Sam points the picture which is a woman with whole white hair and dress, and with bright blue eyes.

"The woman is the snow queen. She lives in the ice castle, and the weather there is very cold. Every year, she will bring snow to the little town." Sam turns to the next page, and points another picture which shows a boy and a girl, hanging out together, and both of them laugh happily. "They are good friends. Gerda and Kai" "However, after that winter, Kai become strange that he can't bear any flaws. He thinks the pure and white snow is the most beautiful scenery in the world, so he comes back to the ice castle with the snow queen next year." The scene changes from the little village into the world of ice and snow as the story goes on. "Kai disappears, the villagers give up to find him, but Gerda doesn't. Gerda believes that Kai is the ice castle, so she starts her adventure to the ice castle." On the last page is the ice castle, and Gerda and Kai holds each other's hand tightly. "During the tough journal, many animals help her, so she finally finds Kai, dealing with the curse put by the evil." Sam closes the book, and wears a satisfied smile.

"You want to be the girl?" Red asks.

Sam looks straight into Red's eyes. "Yes! Saving people! I want to do my mom's work! My mom is a heroine! She breaks lots of barriers to save people. But…" Sam looks down at the floor, holding the book tightly. "But…Mom is busy." Don pats Sam's head. He is so impressive by Sam's independence, consideration, and maturation, Liz really takes a good care of Sam. Maybe he can't judge Liz's persistence with such ease.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Liz rings the doorbell nervously. Don leaves the sofa to answer it. As soon as the door opens, Liz soon bursts into the room with a note in her hand. "Red! What…" she is shocked by the sight and tails off. Red is discussing about the launch with Sam. Cruel and notorious as he is, now he seems so tame and tender toward Sam, and she is tickled by Red's amused words. Sam turns back and finds Liz's figure. "Mommy!" Sam screams, running to Liz. "Oh, my dear!" Liz gives Sam a big hug and kisses her. When Liz puts Sam down on the floor, she sees the note, it reminds her the reason why she was so urgent to be here.  
"Hey sweetie. Go pack your bag, Mom needs to discuss something with uncles." Liz squats to talk to Sam. Sam nods and goes back to the dining room.

"Why do you have my babysitter's number?"

"Number?"

"Give me a break! Red! What's do you want from Sam?" Liz pokes her finger into Red's shoulder and questions him.

"She is your wackiness, but she makes you stronger." Red replies.

Red is the one behinds today's plots. He bargained with Cooper, as an exchange for it, Cooper needed to make that phone call. He also did tricks to make the babysitter have a sick leave. Because of these, Don became the only one could take care of Sam. The only purpose he approaches to Sam is that he wants to know which characteristics she possesses can make Liz be stubborn at that time. Sam is too young, and too fragile, but her strong-will is beyond his imagination. This characteristic and her bonds with Liz are both can make Liz stronger, so he totally changed his attitude toward them.

"Liz, I apologize for the prejudice that I have ever had on your choice. I used to think that you can't provide a stable environment for Sam as a single mother. However, the fact is that I was wrong. You really do a great job. Sam is really an angel." Don tells to Liz sincerely. "Still, it won't be easy, but at least I'll get your back."

Liz is surprised about Don's sudden confession. She was so helpless before, because no one could understand her, even her close friends. She finally gains her best friend's understanding and support. She feels relieved, "Thank you." Liz says from her inner heart. How meaningful this sentence contains!

"Ok! Let's go to launch! Sam!" Liz smiles brilliantly.  
"Hooray!" Sam cheers.

Liz looks at Sam. There are still lots of obstacles she needs to conquer in the future, but with love, there will also be lots of things to look forward to.


End file.
